PM to inaugurate portion of HSIA’s Terminal 3 on Oct 7: Caab chairman
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate a portion of the third terminal of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on October 7.
Air Vice Marshal Md Mafidur Rahman, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab), revealed this information at a press conference at the under-construction building of the third terminal.
According to Caab, 12 of a total of 26 boarding bridges will be operational this October.
The Caab chairman, however, said passengers would be able to use the entire terminal by the end of 2024.
He also informed that around 82 percent of the work of the third terminal has already been completed.
"Our target was to complete 90 percent of the work before inauguration. We hope that the work will be completed according to our plan," he added.
Once fully operational, the new terminal, covering an area of 5,42,000 square metres, will be capable of serving more than 12 million passengers annually. State of the art amenities will also be offered to passengers.
As construction is in its final stage, the magnificent architecture of the third terminal building is now visible. Work on interior decoration and installation of various types of equipment is going on.
Currently, 120-130 planes of over 33 airlines take off from and land at HSIA's Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
Every day about 30,000 to 35,000 passengers use the two terminals. As such, Dhaka airport serves around 8 million passengers annually.
It will be possible to serve an additional 12 million passengers when the third terminal is opened.
According to CAAB, the new terminal will feature a parking apron capable of accommodating 37 aircraft. It will also have 26 boarding bridges.
For arrivals, there will be a total of 59 counters including five automated ones to provide fast and better service to passengers.
In addition, 16 baggage belts will be installed in the third terminal while there will be four separate belts for overweight baggage.
For departure, the terminal will have 115 check-in counters, including 15 self-service ones, and 66 departure immigration counters with 10 automatic passport control counters.
Multi-storeyed car parking with a capacity of accommodating 1,044 cars is also being constructed in the world class terminal, Caab sources said.
In December, 2019, Hasina inaugurated the construction work of the Tk 21,398 crore project aimed at boosting Dhaka airport's passenger and cargo handling capacity.
Of the total cost, the government will provide Tk 5,257 crore and the rest will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The construction of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's third terminal in Dhaka is being done by Japan's Mitsubishi, Fujita and South Korea's Samsung.